Good people often feel that they are promoting good when they simply avoid doing wrong. The new age movement promotes this by preaching non judgment without understanding the concept, and suggesting that inner peace means passivity.

When the enlightened practice non judgment and inner peace, they act, or refrain from acting, from a state of being centered. Ghandi practiced passive resistance and love, certainly, but his was acourageous stance which he discerned would avoid violence. He was not passive to avoid action. When I am passive or non-judgmental to avoid taking a stance, it is a cop out.

More than most people, I understand the power of the unseen and what can be done with energy. I practice a number of energetic or mental techniques which are invisible and yet quite profound in their results. But if I see someone drowning, I think it is more appropriate to go physically to their rescue than to send them good energy. If someone is trespassing, and doesn’t listen to reason, then litigation may be more appropriate than love. (If you are capable of litigating lovingly, then that’s even better.)

Bullies, abusers, those who lack empathy, sociopaths without conscience…none of these people respond well to good energy. People who cannot relate to or connect with their fellow humans are often quite oblivious to the energy of others.

In dealing with these selfish forces, those of us who are good should be positive forces for good, rather than passive lumps who are satisfied with simply not being bad.

What does it mean to be a positive force for good? It involves using power appropriately. We all have god-given power to wield. It was not bestowed upon us to be hidden or to atrophy from disuse.

Positive goodness may involve speaking up, enforcing boundaries and not allowing trespasses, protecting our dependants, and taking action to promote positive outcomes. Positive goodness almost always involves courage and risk taking. It certainly takes discernment to stand up for what is right without continually focusing on what is wrong.

Positive goodness almost always creates a kind of magic in the life of the person who practices it. Whether you win or lose your particular challenge, the courage you practice and the boundaries you fortify put you in a wiser, more centered place. From this state of being, your energetic influence on the world is huge and beneficent.

The prize is that you shine more brightly as your true self and experience deep joy rather than fleeting happiness.